The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals narrowly ruled in favor of Gilbert Amezquita today, granting his petition of habeas corpus. Amezquita's case received a flurry of attention last year amid evidence that Amezquita was innocent and a victim of misidentification. Adding to the unusual facts of the case, the Court of Criminal Appeals, on its own motion, decided to consider the case in February 2005, just two weeks after refusing to examine it.
First, here is the Court's opinion, written by Judge Johnson. She was joined by Judges Price, Womack, Holcomb, and Cochran (who also wrote a concurring opinion.) Judge Hervey's dissent was joined by Presiding Judge Keller and Judges Meyers and Keasler.
Coverage from the February 18, 2005 Houston Chronicle is here.
In a rare move, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has decided to reconsider a case it rejected two weeks ago: the conviction of a Houston man serving a 15-year prison term for an assault that evidence now indicates was committed by another man.
The state's highest court for criminal cases announced on its Web site Wednesday that it had granted the "court's own motion for reconsideration" in the case of Gilbert Amezquita, 27.
"It's very unusual," said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. "In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of it happening before."
It's especially noteworthy, she said, that the court reversed itself without prompting from an attorney involved in the case.
"It's happened a few times, but it's not a common event," said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Baldwin Chin, who has handled opposition to the appeal.
The court rejected Amezquita's request for a new trial earlier this month, even though the original trial judge recommended one be granted.
Amezquita was convicted in 1998 of assaulting Kathy Bingham, who lay in a coma for 10 days after being beaten at her father's plumbing company.
She later identified her attacker as Amezquita, an Army reservist with no criminal history who was employed by a contractor who did work for the plumbing company.
Houston police recovered scrapings from under Bingham's fingernails. But DNA tests were never conducted.
As the trial began, state District Judge Belinda Hill denied a request from the defense and prosecution for a delay until DNA tests could be done.
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